Guest Speakers
Recent Guest Speakers 2024
Monday 21 October 2024 - Talk by Tricia Fortier, representative of The Clown Doctors
Tricia is one of a number of unpaid volunteer promoters of The Clown Doctors. As well as giving a most interesting talk about the group she invited club members to make individual donations in support.
The Clown Doctors is the commonly used name of The Humour Foundation which is a registered charity organization. Its purpose is to bring joy, laughter, and connection to children facing illness, and a time in hospital, as well as their carers, by alleviating emotional and psychological stress. It is committed to promoting the welfare of kids. The Foundation also operates Laughter Care programs in residential age care facilities. It is completely dependent on gifts and financial support from individuals, organizations, and community grants. It receives no funding from the various governments. Last year it raised $5.54 million.
Individual “Clown Doctors” are professional performers paid by the Foundation for full or part time activity. To become qualified they undergo 12 months specific training followed by 50 hospital visits with a senior experienced mentor. After graduation they are allocated a clown name and appearance. This includes a comical hat and clothes and the right to wear a red nose. It is essential that overall this does not generate fear when first seen by a stressed child patient.
They operate in all States and Territories. Last year there were 65 qualified “Clown Doctors” who made 1,893 visits to a small number of 21 hospitals and one hospice. There are also 13 “Laughter Care Specialists” who made 858 visits to 21 residential age care facilities. During visits they attend a number of individual patients or residents on a one-on-one basis. Their performance aims to be sensitive and calm to help relieve fear, stress, and help cope with pain, by humour. “Laughter is the best medicine”. Carers, staff , and families also benefit.
Monday 16 September 2024 - Talk by Elaine Norling from Avoca Beach Theatre
Elaine was born in 1939 and has been passionate about film from early childhood and has been known to see 300 in a year, her favorite film is The Wizard of Oz. In 2005 she became the Coordinator of the Avoca Film Group which meets weekly. Her talk was about film, why we have film, what film is all about, why we have a cinema and why we want to keep it. She started of with why and how do we communicate and make a mark. Telling the story is passing on information and you then have the power of control. We create music, we make music, do plays, ancient theatre and write. All of these are about communicating and about who we are and why we are here. 1896 was the first movie film by the Lumiere Brothers and was 50 seconds long. Also in 1896 the first Cinema was in Pitt Street, Sydney. Australia was early in making film and in 1906-1927 produced 150 feature films and the first full length film. In 1930 American distributors Hoyts and 20th Century Fox signed deals with Australia and their imprint is still in the industry today. 1920+Newsreel Cinema was introduced at the Globe in George Street, Sydney. 1928-1960 Lakemba Magnet Theatre opened with 2000 seating, 1921 established the Terrigal Picture Palace, 1937-1975 The Regal, Gosford opened seating 900, 1948 Avoca Theatre Screening Garden for outdoor films. Avoca Theatre was built in 1951 By Norman Hunter Snr with 500 seats, then Drive-ins, TV Industry, Video/DVD Stores, Smart Phones became a challenge for survival. In 2006 the Theatre was refurbished with 280 seats. Introducing the Multiflex Cinemas was the only way cinemas could survive. Avoca Theatre has one screen and would not survive with the advancements happening. Plays, Music Recitals were introduced so the Theatre could remain viable, the Outdoor Cinema failed twice and was taken away. The block of land next to the Theatre was purchased for $1.7m with the plan to rebuild with more screens and was put to Council and was passed for approval on 22nd August 2024.
Monday 19 August 2024 - Talk by Harold Smart OAM - Convenor of the Order of Australia Association
Harold has an Order of Australia Medal which he was awarded for Innovative Fund raising. He is currently promoting an awareness and understanding of the Order of Australia
Recipients of awards are invited to join the Association whose mission is to celebrate and promote outstanding Australian citizenship. It does this through a number of activities such as networking, promoting, and encouraging nominations for an award. It also provides a small number of university scholarships each year. It has a branch structure – local, state, national.
Initially Harold was invited to be convenor of the Central Coast Branch which has about 90 members. Subsequently he became national convenor.
The Order of Australia was started to provide awards which signify national pride rather than British Empire awards which had been the system used before. Awards are given twice each year on Australia Day and the King’s Birthday. There are four levels Companion (AC), Officer (AO), Member (AM) and Medal (OAM). Each has a clear purpose description. Each year a specific number (related to population size) are awarded at each level. Basically the awards are for community service for the benefit of Australia – additional to usual paid employment. They are presented at a formal ceremony in each State at that State's Government House by the Governor General.
Any Australian citizen can nominate any other Australian citizen using a form but it must be confidential. References are required. Typically about 74% are successful. Success is more likely if the nomination is by a group or the referees have influence. Nominations are extensively reviewed and approved by the Council of the Order if successful.
Monday 15 July 2024 - Talk by Jane Smith from Gosford Sister City Association
The Sister City is Edogawa City Council, Japan. "International Understanding and Friendship" Jane was the first Mayor of the Central Coast Council in 2017 and is also the President of the Gosford City Council Association. In the 1950's Twinned Cities began across the World, there are 500 Sister City affiliations throughout Australia. The Gosford Sister City Association started as a Committee at the Gosford Council's inaugural meeting on 18 November 1985. On 22 December 1987 Gosford Council approved finalisation of a Sister City relationship with Edogawa Ward, Tokyo. The current Mayor is Takeshi Saito and the population is 682,448. In 2018 the Sister City resigned and reaffirmed their relationship their relationship with Central Coast Council. Materials were transported and gifted at a cost of $1m from Japan by Edogawa to establish the Edogawa Commemorative Garden at the Regional Gallery in East Gosford and they were officially opened in 1994. The Edogawa Youth Wing visit has 20 students exchange each year from Japan and hosted by Narrara Valley High School families for a week.
Monday 17 June 2024 - Talk by Clara Peto, Member of Permaculture in Central Coast Club
In her talk Clara explained what Permaculture is and then encouraged our members to consider adopting the practices. The idea is to have an “Edible Garden”.
Put simply permaculture uses the ground on which a house is built to grow food rather use it for sport or decoration. It uses methods which are low maintenance, self sustaining and provide ecological benefits. This is opposed to industrial agriculture which degrades soil and uses a lot of fertilizer and pesticides which wash into rivers and the ocean where they are harmful. The practice is adopted extensively in poorer Eastern European countries.
To start, the ground needs to be cleared of rubbish, lawns, weeds, etc. Then provide undulations such as mounds and valleys to give dryer and wetter areas and prevent water loss as much as possible. Then add a lot of mulch – both animal and vegetable. Then plant varieties of food producing plants, shrubs, and trees. If desired, keeping animals such as chickens can be beneficial. Finally create a compost pit where food scraps and over-ripe items can be put to create new healthy mulch. Nothing edible is lost.
The idea is to plant for the seasons so that fresh food can be extracted every day throughout the year to be immediately eaten fresh. The process is then repeated in a maintenance manner.
The Central Coast club has about 250 members who meet monthly and help each other with ideas, knowledge, etc. and socially in between.
Monday 20 May 2024 - Joe Panozzo (Club Member) A Lifetime in the wine industry.
Joe has Italian parents and his father worked in the wine industry. After he left school Joe started work in sales in the car industry but at age 24 he decided to follow his father in the wine industry. They were both working for the Italian company Cinzano which had a small operation in Australia selling its products here. Fairly soon he became Sales Manager and he worked for the company for 24 years. He then worked for a couple of wineries in the Hunter Valley for 15 years before retiring.
Joe gave a lot of interesting information about wines and the wine industry. Wine was discovered in 6000 BC and then perfected by the Romans (Italians). Today the biggest country producers are Italy, France, Spain in that order. When Joe started, Australians were mainly beer drinkers and he saw the gradual transition until now Australia is sixth largest wine producer. Southern Australia has similar soil and climate conditions to the main European countries. There are 10,000 grape varieties but only 10 of these are best for wine making. Finally, Joe gave a summary of the characteristics of various wine types such as red, white, fortified, and sparkling. A number of vintage wines have become collectors items.
During his career Joe saw three significant changes. In 1968 RBT was introduced in Australia which caused lifestyle changes. In recent years bottle stoppers have changed from corks to screw caps which means less deterioration. Also in recent years, there has been a proliferation of registered trade marks attached to particular types of wine which have traditionally been made in particular areas such as Port, Sherry, Chianti and Champagne, Those names cannot be used by producers outside those areas.
Monday 15 April 2024 - Johanna Reygersberg of Woy Woy branch of Country Women's Association
Johanna gave a very interesting talk about the history and structure of the Country Womens Association of NSW together with its objectives. The talk enabled our members gain an understanding of the very wide range of activities of the CWA and their success. Allthough it is part of a global organization, in Australia it is State based.
CWA NSW was formed in 1922 when country women were fighting isolation and a lack of health facilities. Over many years, members worked tirelessly to set up baby health care centres, fund bush nurses, build and staff maternity wards, hospitals, schools, rest homes, seaside and mountain holiday cottages - and much more. Their aims include lobbying for change, helping the local community, creating a network of support .
The Woy Woy branch was formed in 1932 and other Central Coast branches were formed in Gosford and Terrigal. They have a strong culture of enabling women to socialize with each other, learn different skills, and share interests. They do this by organizing many activities, including competitions, of different handicrafts like art, creative writing, knitting, gardening, and especially cooking. They have guest speakers and outings. Since community support is important, money raising is important and they have four market days a year with stalls selling their handicraft items. They also have monthly formal meetings like we do.
Monday 19 February 2024 - Robyn Hawes OAM from "Friends of Rookwood"
“Friends of Rookwood” is a community group of volunteers dedicated to increasing awareness of the social , historical and cultural values of Rookwood Cemetary. Robyn is a long standing member. It holds monthly tours under different descriptions. Robyn told us that in 1981 the cemetery was in a bit of disarray and a project started to replace headstones when necessary and to record the inscriptions on 750,000 of them for posterity.
The cemetery started in 1867 with an area of 80 hectares. In 1879 it was expanded to 300 hectares (780 acres) – roughly one square mile. The site was chosen away from the city close to the new railway line to Parramatta. A spur line was added directly into the cemetery. There were 4 stations on the spur giving easy access to different sections. Initially the sections were religious, but today there are 90 sections for different religions as well as social, cultural, and service groups. In 1925 a crematorium was added. The last train into the cemetery ran in 1948, and the stations were converted into churches. One of these was dismantled and reassembled in Ainslie in Canberra.
Over the duration nearly one million people have been buried there including many important or famous or infamous people. Many headstones contain significant information about the person. Robyn told many anecdotes about people in all the three categories with particular connection to the Central Coast.
Monday 20 January 2024 - Joanna O'Toole from East Gosford Gallery and Garden
Joanna is Education and Public Programs Officer of the Gallery. She is very highly educated and holds several degrees in Fine Arts and Teaching. The Gosford Regional Gallery is a community facility provided by Central Coast Council and operates within a budget. It is open 7 days a week and entry is free. As well as showing exhibitions it provides education courses to local schools.
Exhibitions of the work of mainly upcoming artists are on display for roughly four weeks at a time. Joanna gave us information about each exhibition and artist scheduled for the next 12 months. There is a very wide variety of styles, and artists backgrounds, in the program - something for every taste. As well as the exhibitions, the gallery runs two art competitions each year with significant money prizes - with general and junior categories.
The Edogawa Commemorative Japanese Garden was opened in 1994 and was a gift from the City of Edogawa which is the formal Japanese sister city of Gosford.
The facility can provide short guided tours of the gallery and garden for a small fee for small groups such as Probus Clubs.
Recent Guest Speakers 2023
Monday 20 November 2023 - Deb Wallace (Retired Senior Police Officer) -
The Illicit Drug Trade
To start with Deb introduced herself as very busy since retirement. She is President of the Swansea Workers Club, she has been performing in several Channel 9 crime documentaries, and she was recently appointed to be a member of the Parole Board (an important role).
Deb described the illicit drug trade in Australia over the last 35 years. Prior to 2000 the main illicit drug was Heroin. This was derived from poppies largely grown in Myanmar. It was highly addictive and caused a “down” feeling. The supply was managed initially by a few Drug Lords in Kings Cross but subsequently by Bikies in Cabramatta. It was mainly used by unhappy poor people. Because it was expensive it led to robbery and the crime rate was high.
In 1998/9 there was a drought in Myanmar. The poppy and Heroin supply dried up and the crime rate fell. Criminals needed a new product and MDMA (known as Ecstasy) became the replacement. It is not organic and is not affected by drought. It is not addictive, is a “party drug” giving a “high” and no hang over. It became trendy and socially acceptable to 18 t0 35 year olds with money to spend. It is, however, complex to manufacture.
Subsequently criminals found a simpler form which could easily be made locally (MA known as Ice). Ice is highly addictive and the crime rate has risen again. Australia is the highest illicit drug user per head in the world.
Deb believes that prevention is best achieved by police focussing on minimising supply by aggressive activity and more importantly the education system minimising demand. She begged members to become “influencers“ of younger generations as part of the education process.
Her talk was fascinating and entertaining and kept members enthralled.
Monday 15 October 2023 - Adam Crouch (Liberal State MP for Terrigal)
Adam gave a very interesting and well received talk with two main themes – the work he does and himself personally.
He is now in his third term. In NSW terms are fixed for four years and elections occur in March. For several years Adam has been Whip for the liberal party. In this role he’s responsible for party discipline and giving confidential advice to fellow MPs. He’s currently in Opposition but was previously in Government. He said that the work hasn’t really changed because most work is done in a harmonious and bipartisan way in committees. He regards himself as a parliamentarian rather than a politician. As the former it is all about finding the best outcome for the people of NSW.
As an elected MP his main responsibility is to his electors. To help him he has a local office with several staff who are service oriented. He told us that a large proportion of their work is actually liaising with Central Coast Council about residents’ frustrations about Council responsibilities.
The Central Coast has 360,000 residents and this is expected to grow by 40,000 by 2041. The Coast has the highest proportion of volunteers of various types in the country, being 11%, which saves taxpayers a lot of money. The Terrigal division has 75,000 electors.
Adam was born in Adelaide and before becoming an MP he worked for a large printing company. He made the change for job satisfaction because ever since his childhood he has had a deep passion for representing groups of people and trying to help them. He confirmed that his current role does give him a tremendous amount of personal satisfaction. He loves his job even though he works about 75 hours per week on average. A lot of that is on weekends and a lot away from home. A lot involves interaction with residents, clubs, schools, at events, etc. It is only possible with support from his wife who is a nurse.
He has a passion for telling the truth even if it is not popular. If he doesn’t know he says so. If he can’t do something or has no power to help he says so. These are not attributes held by many politicians and he is a “breath of fresh air”. He is a thinker and loves to share his opinions. During his time in parliament, since 2015, he has spoken there 11,000 times. He likes to respect others who hold different opinions.
Monday 18 September 2023 - Kelly Heddle from Service NSW
Kelly is “Savings Finder Specialist” in Erina Branch and helps people find the best benefits they can from the NSW Govt “Savings Finder Program. There are 70 such benefits available to NSW residents in respect of a wide range of types of normal expenditure. They provide rebates and discounts and are all subject to eligibility based on different criteria.
It is almost impossible for people to be fully aware of all their entitlements. The Govt actively promotes the range of benefits as often and in as many places as possible. It also actively encourages people to investigate for themselves by phoning the call centre or visiting a Service NSW branch. Every branch has someone like Kelly who is available for a 45 minute face to face session by appointment. Their website also contains details of all 70 benefits and is structured to be easy to navigate and “user friendly”.
Kelly also spoke about the NSW Govt “ID Support Program”. In this age of ever increasing scamming it is vital for everyone to be aware of the issues and to take steps to protect their ID at every possibility. The program gives advice about how to keep your identity safe and about recovery if it has been accessed. They are promoting the idea of “Never click on a link in an SMS”
Monday 21 August 2023 - Geoff Potter - The "Maitland Wreck'
Geoff gave a very interesting talk about the history of the local wreck of SS Maitland which occurred on 6 May 1888 in Cape Three Points Boat Harbour in the Pacific Ocean coastline of Kilcare. Geoff has published a book giving great detail of the event (available for purchase) and he showed a number of slides from the book.
The SS Maitland was a steam driven paddle steamer which was built in the Clyde estuary in Scotland and launched in November 1870. It was 230 feet long and slender. It had paddle wheels 21 ½ feet in diameter in the centre and two funnels. It weighed 880 tons and sailed at 25 kph. It was regarded as the “best paddle steamer in Australian waters”.
The ship was part of a group which used to sail from Sydney to Newcastle and back on a regular basis to carry cargo and people. In those days there was no road or railway. The journey took about 6 hours. It was also used to run excursions into the Hunter valley.
During the night of 5/6 May 1888 the ship was on its way from Sydney to Newcastle when there was a severe storm. It was carrying 36 passengers, 30 crew and some cargo. The storm caused some holes in the side of the ship and it took on water. This put the fire out and, with no steam, the ship lost power. It was swept on to a rock platform and split into two at 5.45am. Fortunately the people were able to get ashore.
Subsequently the bay was renamed “Maitland Bay”. The wreck stayed there but over the years has disintegrated and now there are only a few metal plates to act as a reminder.
Monday 17 July 2023 - Tracey Poolman - A wildlife rescuer from "Wires"
Casey works in a pet shop and then volunteers for “Wires” where she has been a volunteer for 11 years. Because of her experience, Casey is the rescue coordinator and the educator for the Central Coast. The Central Coast area is large and stretches from Morisset to Mooney Mooney. In the area there are roughly 20 active rescuers and 10 active carers. They receive no funding other than donations.
Wires receives calls from the public about injured or trapped wildlife. A sister organisation called “Ark” looks after pets. Initially a rescuer attends and after retrieval either releases or takes to a vet. Injuries vary and can require medication or surgery. After treatment the animal is either released or passed on to a carer who will provide continuing care until release is possible. Often euthanasia is the only practical solution. A single rescue can take between minutes and days to effect.
The most common rescues are 1. Birds including Tawny Frogmouths. 2. Possums and gliders. 3. Kangaroos, wallabies and wombats. 4. Small mammals. 5. Bats. 6. Reptiles. Casey told many anecdotes especially about snakes since she is the only specialist snake rescuer in the area. She stressed that Australian snakes are docile, timid, and not harmful unless threatened.
After she answered questions, members showed their appreciation by putting donations into the club suggestion box.
Monday 19 June 2023 - Nikki Bennett - A singer/performer from Art House, Wyong
We heard from Nikki about her show called the “Princesses of Pop” which will be performed in the Art House, Wyong on 4 August. The show is about the life stories of the first three of Australia’s top female international singer artistes namely Judith Durham, Helen Ready and Olivia Newton-John.
Nikki told us the fascinating stories of Judith Durham and Helen Ready. We learned that even though these artistes had tremendous success worldwide in their professional singing careers over a few decades unfortunately their personal lives were very tragic. They had to struggle through great personal hardships, discrimination and abusive personal relationships. They also suffered severe health problems which eventually took their lives. Even though their success and fame earned them great fortunes unfortunately one way or another they retained very little of it for themselves and eventually died poor.
This was a real eye-opener to the members who knew very little of the true life stories of these famous singing artistes. Unfortunately, Nikki had no time to tell us about Olivia Newton-John but Olivia’s story was much more recent and very well known in Australia by many people.
Monday15 May 2023 - Professor Creswell Eastman - The Silent Epidemic - Iodine Deficiency
As well as being a specialist endocrinologist and educator, Cres has spent a lifetime researching his passion for the cause of severe brain retardation in children in under developed and isolated countries around the world. In the process he established firm evidence that a major cause is iodine deficiency in pregnant women and in the first 1,000 days of life in children. He found that during those times an adequate iodine level is essential .
A deficiency can cause both severe brain retardation and also thyroid expansion leading to goitre (large lumps in the neck). In addition severe deficiency causes irreversible reduction of IQ of 10 to 15. Even a small deficiency causes some reduction in IQ.
A normal need is an intake of 150 micrograms per day. During pregnancy a woman needs 250 micrograms per day because it has to be shared with her foetus. The main sources of dietary iodine are seafood, sea salt, and pure milk. Forty years ago Cres found some small isolated countries in the Himalayas which had no source of these items and the whole population was badly affected. He found that the solution was to require iodised salt to be included in diet. He recommended that to those Governments, who legislated that any salt used in manufactured foods must be iodised , and the result has been normality.
In Australia in 2003/4 there was a national study of children 8 to 10 years old. It was found that 25% were mildly deficient of iodine. There was also some evidence that a similar finding applied to pregnant women. During the 1990’s milk began to be chemically treated leading to iodine loss. In addition inland sources of salt contained no iodine. It was recommended that only iodised salt be used in future. The Government made it a legal requirement that salt used in bread production had to be iodised. That is at least beneficial to bread eaters. Other people are dependent on the recommendations.
Cres expressed personal concerns about the recent increasing fashionable use of pink salt crystals which are derived from inland Pakistan. They have no iodine content. Also the observation that Australian children are sliding down the scale of academic achievement and are currently worse than Kazakhstan. Although there are known problems in teaching processes, Cres worries that iodine deficiency could possibly be a contributing factor because results are worse when associated with poverty and poor diet.
Afterwards members expressed their thanks and appreciation to Cres by loud applause. Over lunch many members were heard saying how interesting and enjoyable they had found the talk.
Monday 17 April 2023 - Ian Hemphill - "Herbie"
Herbie explained to the members that herbs are from the leaf of a plant while spices are from many other parts of the plant. He said correct storage of the spices is essential to keep the best flavor. They should always be kept in airtight containers in dark places. Spices get their flavours from the volatile oils locked in the cell structure of the spice. They don’t need a use by date because they never become unsafe to use. They are therefore given a best before date. If correctly stored away from extreme heat, light and humidity whole spices will be at their best for up to 3 years and ground spice blends for 12 to 18 months. He then went on to talk about 13 different spices – their source and their use.
Monday 20 February 2023 - Billy Davies of Tru Blu Solar Co
Billy Davies is Proprietor and CEO of Tru Blu Solar Co. He gave a very interesting and well received talk about the fundamentals of solar electricity.
His company was founded in January 2016 and he currently has 5 employees. He and his senior staff have a series of academic qualifications about solar power. He said that 2 are apprentices. His company is involved with installing and maintaining solar power systems in homes and small academic and commercial premises. They have recently added processes for charging Electric Vehicles.
He gave a detailed explanation about how solar power systems work - both solar panels and inverters (the boxes which convert the power from the panels into household power). He showed some very interesting graphs on how homes produce and use a mixture of solar power and grid power over a typical 24 hours (night and day). He also had graphs showing how various home electrical devices use power over a typical 24 hours. He referred to the growing use of batteries to store excess solar power but said that they are not yet economic and won’t be until they become cheaper.
Although his talk was not a “sales talk” he did answer questions about typical pricing. He gave “ballpark” ranges and stressed that manufactured brand was a key variable. He said that very few items are made in Australia because of high costs and are only bought by passionate nationalists who can afford to do so.
Monday 16 January 2023 - Brian Freeman - U3A
The guest speaker for today was Brian Freeman talking about U3A (University of the 3rd Age – the older generation). Although described as a university there are no exams or marks. Most of the “courses” are really social activities such as walking group, coffee morning group, lunch group, card games groups, although a few do involve learning about things such as photography, or current affairs. The Central Coast Campus currently offers 80 “courses”.
It is a non-profit community based organization run by volunteers as are the course leaders. It aims to assist members broaden horizons, keep minds active, and be a great place to meet new friends.
Guest Speakers 2022
Monday 21st November 2022 - RFS Central Coast Operations Officer - Damien Fear
Damien Fear gave a talk on how to stay safe during the Bushfire season. He advised that everyone who lives close to bush should have a bushfire plan. This included clearing gutters, no plastics and wood near windows, a long hose. If leaving home, they should tell relatives, and leave a sign at the gate if there is a static water storage, like tank, pool or dam available in the premises for fire fighters. He also explained the Macarthur Meter which is the new simplified fire rating system. The ratings are “Moderate/High/Extreme/Catastrophic” and he explained the meanings of those ratings.
In the case of house and kitchen fires he gave examples of items people should have in their homes to protect themselves. These included a fire extinguisher, fire blanket, smoke alarm, torch, phone number to ring for help. He also highlighted that a surge protector for electrical equipment is one of the most important and affordable items people can have to protect against house fires. He advised that one of the best types of fire extinguishers to have in the house is a dry chemical one. We should not be afraid of them, they are easy to use, just pull the pin, aim at the base of the fire and sweep. Finally he advised that for old people they can ring the Fire Brigade to come to their house to assess their fire safety and install smoke alarms for free.Damien Fear gave a talk on how to stay safe during the Bushfire season. He advised that everyone who lives close to bush should have a bushfire plan. This included clearing gutters, no plastics and wood near windows, a long hose. If leaving home, they should tell relatives, and leave a sign at the gate if there is a static water storage, like tank, pool or dam available in the premises for fire fighters. He also explained the Macarthur Meter which is the new simplified fire rating system. The ratings are “Moderate/High/Extreme/Catastrophic” and he explained the meanings of those ratings.
In the case of house and kitchen fires he gave examples of items people should have in their homes to protect themselves. These included a fire extinguisher, fire blanket, smoke alarm, torch, phone number to ring for help. He also highlighted that a surge protector for electrical equipment is one of the most important and affordable items people can have to protect against house fires. He advised that one of the best types of fire extinguishers to have in the house is a dry chemical one. We should not be afraid of them, they are easy to use, just pull the pin, aim at the base of the fire and sweep. Finally he advised that for old people they can ring the Fire Brigade to come to their house to assess their fire safety and install smoke alarms for free.
Monday 17th October 2022 - Ray Crawley, Executive Member of Men's Sheds, Central Coast and Northern Beaches.
Ray advised that in NSW there are 15 zones & he is the Overseer of zone 14, which has 18 sheds in the Central Coast and 8 sheds in Northern Beaches. There are 414 sheds in NSW, and a total of 1,350 in Australia. The NSW division is funded by the Health Department. The sheds are for Men, but some now allow Women to participate. Ray's role is to provide support to the sheds and run cluster groups, environmental & community projects to help people in need, especially during the recent drought, floods and fires. For example the sheds made little wooden crosses for churches, for which they received donations. They raised $72,000 which they donated to SES to help drought stricken people. They organised Christmas Parties for the kids, and repaired bkes to give as donations. They also organised volunteers to help Farmers mend their fences.
Monday 19th September 2022
Billy Davis from TruBlu Solutions who was to talk about Solar power, domestic, industrial, and national aspects unfortunately did not attend the meeting. Instead one of our members, Frank Brown gave a talk on knot tying. Frank was very knowledgeable on the subject and gave an interesting account, keeping the members captivated with his stories
Monday 15 August 2022 - Detective Senior Constable Rachael Scott - Scams & Safety
Rachael gave a very comprehensive talk about public and personal safety as well as scams. She advised members the correct phone numbers to ring for non-life threatening crimes like break-ins and noise nuisance. She talked about care for security especially in gated communities and reminded them to lock cars and front doors. She also talked about care of personal property like wallets and car keys in public places such as supermarkets and also the danger of important mail being stolen from their letter boxes. She also warned of all types of scams through phone calls and emails and how to spot them. She also touched on elder-abuse. The members found the talk very helpful and enlightening and were very appreciative of the Constable giving her time to come and speak to them. She also left very helpful fridge magnets, booklets and leaflets to help us remember how to avail ourselves of help if necessary. After the talk John Evans expressed the thanks of the members and also wrote a letter of commendation of Constable Scott to her Supervisor.
Monday 18th July 2022 - David Abrahams - IT Manager Coast News
Central Coast Newspapers is a locally based, locally owned public interest news service that publishes across multiple platforms, in print, on line, on mobile, social media, in audio/video and suscription services. CNN is a family owned business that employs local staff who live on the Central Coast. The amalgamated digital news Service Coastcommunitynews.com.au has a 274,000 regular users and 1,020,000 page views - the combined associated social media assets have a monthly reach of 110,000 people including - You Tube - Facebook - Twitter - Instagram. CCN publishes and distributes an amalgamated weekly masthead Coast Community News with a total print run of between 45-55,000 papers each friday.
Monday 20th June 2022 - Ian (Herbie) Hemphill - Herbs & Spices
Guest Speaker today is Ian (Herbie) Hemphill of Herbie's Spices with their factory located at Charmhaven 19 years ago. Ian is also the Author od the " Spice & Herb Bible" They only sell to the public and not to the supermarkets.
Ian advised that Spices are the plants that changed the world and explained that the leaf is the herbs, and the rest of the plant is the spice.Suggest you do a scratch and smell test to judge quality of the plant. Saffron is the worlds most expensive spice as it is only sourced from the sigma of a flower that has a short harvesting period, and as a result, is said to be worth $20,000 per kilo. Vanilla is the next most expensive spice, Nutmeg is native to Indonesia, Cinnamon or Cassia from Spice Islands, with Cassia the stronger of the two. Cloves were also mentioned, and that Basil is similar to Cloves, Pepper is the most traded of the spices in various forms e.g. pepper, cardamon, paprika, chilli, through to lemon myrtle, etc. Masala is a common term which simply means a mixture of spices so that all curry powders could be called Masala. Spices are an agricultural commodity. Storage for whole spices is 3 years and for ground spices 12 to 18 months.Although the spices can be used after these dates, although the flavour will have dissipated.
An informative well received presentation with copies of the Herbs & Spice Bible and Spice dictionary on sale at the conclusion.
John Evans expressed the thanks of the Members and made a small presentation to Ian.
Monday 16 May 2022 - Shannon Stanton - Westpac Rescue Helicopters
Shannon Stanton gave a very interesting talk, with videos, about Westpac Rescue Helicopters (WRH). She is a happy full time employee and has worked there for 12 years. She is responsible for publicity and fund raising. She finds her activity very uplifting.
It is not generally understood that WRH is a search and rescue organization which is a charity. It provides a free service to move seriously ill or injured people to an appropriate hospital or to search for lost people. It is responsible for the area of Northern New South Wales but, if available, it can provide help in other areas. There are similar, but unconnected, services in Southern NSW and other States.
WRH was formed 47 years ago in a small way and has grown into a significant operation. It now owns 4 modern fast helicopters which are fitted out as mobile Intensive Care Units with sophisticated cable lifting apparatus. They operate from three bases across the State with one aircraft in maintenance or backup.
It operates on a 24/7 basis with staff rostered in shifts. Each shift, each aircraft has two full time employees as technical crew. It also carries a doctor and paramedic who are provided by NSW Health on a contract basis.
WRH is financed by sponsorships, donations and fund raising events. Westpac is their main sponsor with naming rights but they have a number of others.
After her talk, members gave Shannon rousing applause and she was given a small gift in thanks by John Evans.
Monday 11 April 2022 - Liz Parkinson - Terrigal
Liz Parkinson on her second visit to Avoca Beach Probus club, as a Guest Speaker, showed a selection of slides relating to how Terrigal was developed from a small seaside holiday spot,into the Tourist hub it is today. She spoke about the history of the Area,and the people who featured prominently in the development of the Terrigal area. Some Members remembered the proposed rail loop, that was to be built from Gosford to Terrigal & back to Gosford via Avoca. Sadly it was never built.
Monday 21 February - Liz Parkinson - Nth Avoca
Liz Parkinson is an Artist, an Author and a Historian, with her field of interest being Avoca Beach, Nth Avoca and Terrigal where she has lived for many years. The Members - particularly those that live in the area - were very interested in the historic photos, dating from early 1900. Liz gave a running commentary on the development & the people who were important to the area. Henry F Halloran owned the land, built Avoca House, & in 1914 began to develop the communities we know today.
Monday 17 January - Bruce Carty Phd - AM Radio around the World
Bruce expanded on his experiences in Australian AM Radio, by telling us of his overseas travels to work & meet others in AM Radio around the world. Some of the Countries he travelled to, & worked in, were Central & South America, USA, Europe & Iceland. Probus Members were very amused by his anecdotes of the hazards of airline travel which included one aircraft that lost a wing, & another which caught fire. Thanks Bruce very interesting.
Guest Speakers 2021
Monday 22 November 2021 - Bruce Carty PhD. - Australian Radio History
Bruce Spoke about his research into the early experiments & development of Australian A.M.Broadcasting Stations. He also covered the history of our A.M. Stations from the first licensed Station in 1922 to the present Day.
Monday 21 June 2021 - Nina Angelo Author & Artist
Nina Angelo is a visual artist and author who resides at Macmasters Beach. She gave a very interesting talk on her life, her artwork and her book, “Don't Cry Dance”, which tells stories of her parents who met during th-e war in Auchswitz. Her mother was Polish and her father, Greek, though almost all of the other members of her family were killed by the Nazis. Nina was born in Athens and her family migrated to Australia in 1949 when she was a young girl. She leads a very full life including being involved with the Sydney Jewish Museum, her artwork in which she uses fabric, producing a “Homage to the Elements” on the rocks at Terrigal, and public speaking. Nina was awarded the OAM (Order of Australia Medal) in 2009 for Services to Art.
Monday 17 May 2021 - Nicola Robinson from Hunter Central Coast Development Corporation
The Hunter Central Coast Development Corporation, own and manage property in the Central Coast, Newcastle,and Port Stephens area. It plays a key roll in delivering complex projects that establish growth and development in our Region.
Our Speaker today – Nicola Robinson; is a Director of HCCDC and is directly responsible for the Central Coast area, therefore she was able to give us an overview of the Projects that are currently under development and those that are still in the planning stage.The Kariong Parklands, offers the Central Coast a desination for Tourism, Events, plus Business and Education opportunities., with further development planned for the future. The Leagues Club Park, recently completed,and situated in the centre of Gosford, is described as a nature inspired play park, with it's unique Tidal Terrace.
Newcastle has been revitalised with projects underway to link the city to the waterfront, and with the repurposing of the old railway station into a hub,for recreation, shopping and events.
Further north the Cockle Creek Precinct, opens up opportunities for new jobs, housing and economic benefits, at Cockle Creek near Lake Macquarie.
Probus Members seemed to really enjoy Nicola's presentation, and ask a lot of questions – particularly about how these projects are financed.
John Evans thanked Nicola on behalf of the Club and presented her with a small gift.
Monday 15 February 2021 - Commander Duncan Coles from Marine Rescue NSW, Central Coast
Marine Rescue is a completely volunteer organization and a charity but it is highly professional. It is funded 45% by NSW Govt, 25% by grants and donations and the balance by fund raising activities. It has 44 units throughout the State and 3,500+ volunteers. Only a few units operate 24/7. Their sole purpose is to help provide safety on the water. They have five themes – Search & Rescue, Medical Emergency, General Assistance, Operation of Marine Radio Network, Public Awareness.
In the Central Coast there are two units with premises at Point Clare and Terrigal Haven and they have 130 volunteers. They operate daily and are on standby for nights. They have six rescue vessels. Last year 120 vessels were assisted and the operation cost $150,000. This is mostly spent on fuel, servicing, maintenance and replacements.
Each volunteer contributes 450 hours per year spread over – 35 days on duty, 20 days training, 4 days fundraising. They come from a very wide background with only a few having had marine careers.
Members found this talk about a service which operates right on our doorstep really interesting and John Evans (Guest Speakers Coordinator) thanked Duncan for his talk and gave him a small gift from the club.
Monday 18 January 2021 - Tiffany from the NSW Service Centre in Erina
Tiffany is a specialist customer service officer providing help for people to get the maximum benefit from the NSW Government’s “Cost of Living Program”. Tiffany has 16 years experience in this role – 6 in the current service centre and 10 before that in Centrelink. Under this program more than 70 discounts, subsidies, concessions and rebates are available to low income earners, seniors, and pensioners. These benefits are available in a wide range of activities such as energy, driving, transport, health, the home and recreation.
During her talk Tiffany explained, in a very friendly and easy to understand way, a number of these and dealt with questions as she went along. She also let members know that she is available, by appointment, for a 45 minute interview at the Service Centre with anyone with little knowledge of the program.
Tiffany was able to say that a Round 2 of the Regional Travel Card giving eligible people a $250 stored value Visa card had just been announced by the Government. She encouraged members to apply by phone, online, or through her.
We now live in a technology age and Tiffany encouraged member who are struggling to gain skills to actively use an online facility called “Be Connected”. She feels that this provides easy to understand help and learning about all aspects of computing and technology.
Tiffany’s talk was extremely well received by members and she was happy to provide individual answers to a queue of members afterwards. In the absence of John Evans (Guest Speakers Coordinator) Barry Turner thanked her for her talk and gave her a small gift from the club.
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